Heads Up Hockey

by Mary MacGregor

(written 1992, published Beef in B.C. March/April 92)

Cattle producers are under siege. Prices are down, costs are up. City people seem to think that ranchers are resource rapists and pillagers of the worst kind. They think that wise use of resources is non-use. They don’t seem to understand, or maybe even care, that without resource use, neither the cattle industry nor the provincial economy will survive in anything like its current form. The political and social environment in which cattle producers operate is increasingly hostile.

How can we handle intense competition for resources, with all the old players plus new and different interest groups? Do we have to be pessimistic and paranoid, fighting damage control actions and looking for new threats behind every bush? In what ways can we plan for and trust the future?

Ranching is a bit like hockey. It is a competition; it can be a lot of fun—but you have to keep your head up or you are going to get hit and maybe hurt. You have to be aware of what is going on around you so that you can head off problems or minimize the consequences.

So, how can you survive in a situation like this? There are two things I can tell you can’t or should not do.

One, you should not ignore it. You can’t just bury your head, go about your business like so many of you have in the past few years, thinking that the problem will just go away. That’s not going to work…

Secondly, you can’t take the position, “well, this is just too big—I’m just a little rancher out here. I can’t do anything about it. What’s going to happen will happen.”. That’s a terrible approach and will only lead to economic disaster for you.

So there are four things I’d like to tell you that I think you should do.

One, you’ve got to become better organized, more focused and develop an active plan of attack. Organized, focused and active. Great strides have been made in the last two or three years in responding to a number of the problems. This organization [Colorado Cattle Feeders] has done a good job… Your national organizations are working on good responsive programs. But that’s not nearly enough. It is almost too little, too late. Your organization is much too passive, much too defensive.

I was in Washington recently and was talking to an elected official about making this speech and about the cattle industry and he said that he had some words of wisdom for me to include in this speech and, while I won’t mention his name, I think it’s very important. He said that the cattle industry takes too many hits. He said hardly a day goes by that something negative is in the press or some government official or agency says something negative about cattle feeding, about beef, or something about agriculture, and nothing is done about it. It’s just a day-to-day routine about what negative will come out next. He said that we’ve got to go on the attack.

You can’t just sit back and let these things happen to you. We’re losing the battle for public opinion. Public opinion is turning against us and we’ve got to do more to stop that. [Lobbyists, lawyers, and PR firms] are good. But what I’m talking about is that you’ve got to develop a more active attack. You can’t just get by when you’re not rocking the boat. You’ve got to go out and rock the boat.

To do this, we need your support. You’ve got to believe in what’s going on and then you, of course, have to support it. The …organization is a perfect organization to spearhead this. The Board has to bring all of these issues into focus and you need to pick three, four, five major issues that you want to fight. These issues should be the ones that are the most critical to you. Of course, you’ve got to continue to fight all the issues, but you’ve got to focus on the real issues that are most important to you. … Your industry has its own identity and you’ve got to fight for it—you can’t rely on other people to do it.

I grew up in Alabama and like most kids there, we were all influenced by Coach Bear Bryant. …One of his favorite sayings to us was something that has had a big impact on me through my whole life and I’ve advised a lot of clients to do this. That saying was “to go out and make something happen”. And those of you that play football will know what I’m talking about. You go out and cause a fumble, interception, you block a punt, you do something. You don’t just sit back and wait for the other team to make a mistake or to wear down. And this is something that applies to you. You’ve got to go out and make something happen. Too many negative comments are in the media today and too many things are happening against you that you can’t sit back and watch them happen and react. You’ve got to go out and develop your own plan of attack.

The second recommendation is you’ve got to increase your political clout. The first thing you’ve got to do is become better aware of the political process. Too often I get calls a day or two before a critical vote where someone’s asking me to contact a certain representative or a Congressman, and that’s too late. ….You’ve got to be involved either before the bill is introduced or right after it’s introduced. You can’t wait until everybody has had their shots at the bill and it has worked through the process, and then try to get it amended. It’s just too difficult. The odds are against you. So understand the process and get involved early on.

Another thing is you’ve got to locate candidates who know and understand where you’re coming from. …Plus, you need to educate the people that are running for office. Work with them early on when they’re just starting up the political ladder. Get involved in their campaigns. Be on their steering committees, their finance committees, so that while you’re working with that candidate you can talk about your problems in the industry so that candidates know where you’re coming from—so they’ve heard from you before there is a problem. Nobody likes our system today but it’s the only one we’ve got and until it’s changed, all elections will cost a great deal of money. So if you’re really going to get the ear of someone, you’ve got to contribute to their campaign. No, you’re not going to change one of their fundamental views by making a political contribution. But if you show the candidate that you’re willing to support him or her, I think they will show that they’re willing to listen to your position. …And lastly, you’ve got to support both parties. You can’t just go with one party and leave out the other party. We have a two-party system and it’s important that as an organization, you cover both bases.

The third thing I would recommend is that you have a game plan in place when a [regulatory] problem occurs. What do you do when an investigator drives up to your feedlot, gets out and says, “I want to take pictures” or “I want to take a statement from you and your employees”? What do you do? Do you tell him, “Get the hell out of here”? Do you start talking to him? Do you let him do what he wants to do? Those are hard decisions and there’s no easy answer. I can’t stand here today and say you should do this or you should do that. But being a former District Attorney, I can tell you that most people convict themselves. When they start talking and start trying to explain away whatever they’re doing or try to outsmart the investigator, they usually get themselves in trouble. So the first piece of advice is don’t talk, don’t try to justify what you’re doing. Call somebody who can advise you, that can come out there and help you. …You should know that you need help, and that anything you say can and will be used against you. …Be careful and know what to do when a problem occurs.

The last thing is that you’ve got to better appreciate and be aware of the changing consumer habits and opinions. …Things have changed. People want different kinds of food than they did ten years ago. They have different opinions about the environment, about animal safety, about everything you’re doing, and you can’t just ignore that. Pay attention to it because this is the wave of the future.

Likewise, although you don’t agree with them, you’ve got to pay attention to what is going on involving the groups that are opposed to you. These groups are well-funded, they’re very vocal and people are listening to what they’re having to say. So you can’t just brush them off. You’ve got to recognize that what they’re saying, that the public is listening. These people feel very strongly about what you are doing and you can’t just ignore it. You’ve got to respect it and respond to it.

In closing, I don’t want you to be depressed about what’s going on. I want you to fight. One person can make a difference. A small group can make a difference.

One of my personal heroes is Lech Walesa, …president of Poland. And when he was in this country a couple years ago, he spoke to Congress and he told the story about one man making a difference. Back a dozen or so years ago, when he first started his independence movement and his labour movement, he was beaten up by a group of Communist thugs. They beat him up pretty bad, threw him over a fence and left him for dead. And when Lech was waking up, he felt around to see if his arms and legs were still there or broken, and he was feeling pretty sorry for himself. And he said, why the hell am I doing this? I don’t have to go through this. I should be at home with my wife and kids. But, as he struggled to his feet, he realized that this was a fight worth fighting, that he thought that his country should be independent, and should not be under communism, and that he would do all that he could to fight it. And, of course, you know the story 10 years later, they did get their independence and he was as much responsible for it as anyone.

Now I’m not asking anybody to go through that, but what I am saying is that this is something that’s critically important to you. It’s your livelihood, it’s your homes, it’s your ranches. It’s something that belongs to you. And that is worth fighting for. One person or one small group…can make a difference.